1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. Together with 1 John 3:6, Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him, are difficult to understand.

These verses must be examined with the entirety of John’s first epistle. For example, 1 John 1:8 and 10, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” and “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” John is clearly teaching that the Christian sins. Understanding that John clearly is not teaching sinlessness on the part of the Christian, then we must surmise that John’s intent is easily definable within the text.

John’s intended audience are Christians, “Whosoever is born of God”, and not to a select few “super Christians.” Therefore, his writing affects the entire body of believers in Christ. John’s point is “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.” It is important to know that John is declaring the total absence of all sin, and not just the continuing, practice or keeping on of sin. Some Bible translations translate this verse as: “no one who is born of God will continue to sin,” (NIV). While others will use, “makes a practice of sinning” (ESV, NASB). However, this is not the original Greek. Since God is the source of the Christian birth and he is completely holy and perfect, he cannot “beget” a partially perfect child. “Like-begets-like.”

For the apostle John, the idea that a Christian will continually or habitually practice sin goes against everything that John intends. John clearly defines that man is sinful, and that no sin is allowed in the Christian in order to have fellowship with God.

For John, the believer is in a constant state of struggle with the old man, which is an enemy of God, and the new man which is a born-again believer. The war is between the “inner man which is a believer’s new nature, and the old man whose nature is a sinful nature of Adam. The “inward man” tries to serve the law of God, but the outward man serves his flesh.

We can never be free of this nature, however, the inner man, being the image of a perfect God, is regenerated and does not commit sin. (Romans 7:20-25; Galatians 2:20). The “old man” sins, however the “new man” does not and cannot sin, according to John.

Caution; John does not intend to present the Christian as being able to become sinless perfection in the outward man. Sin does exist in the believer’s life, but it is foreign and extraneous to the inward regenerated man where Christ dwells in perfect holiness.

That was the headline for the announcement that the Denver Broncos head coach John Fox and Executive Vice President John Elway had come to an agreement that they would part ways. This separation of a winning head coach sent shock waves throughout the sports world.

John Fox was brought in when the team went a horrific 4-12. That is not the Denver tradition. He got his hands deep into the organization and went 8-8 the following year and into the playoffs. The next two years, the team went 13-3 after brining in Peyton Manning. In the 2014 season of 12-4, it was the fourth AFC West title since becoming the head coach. In four years the Broncos were 46-18, with four division titles. In 2013 the Broncos went to the Super Bowl.

With all the good work, vision and leadership, his good, just wasn’t good enough.

The problem was a 3-4 record in the postseason, a 43-8 thrashing in the Super Bowl and a one-and-out 24-13 loss this year spelled disaster for coach Fox.

The official statement from Elway said; “While we have made significant progress under Coach Fox, there is still work to be done. I believe this change at the head coaching position will be in the best interest of our long-term goal, which from day one has been to win World Championships.”

Your good, is just not good enough.

Like John Fox heard from his boss, one day, every one of us will face the creator of the universe. And when that day comes, the Bible tells us that no matter how hard we tried, or how good of person we are to others, our good, is just not good enough.

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans lays it out pretty clear. “There is none righteous (no matter how good we try to be), no, not one.” (Romans 3:10). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

But there is hope. Paul says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:10). So even though we could not be good enough on our own, God made a plan.

At one point or another, we have been exposed to John 3:16 in the Bible. In churches or at sporting events you will see signs that say, “John 3:16.” That verse says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish.”

Paul describes what John wrote in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Our attempts to be good fall way short of what God wants, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we can receive a gift from God, eternal life.

Wages or Gift…our very best efforts (Wages) will be NOT GOOD ENOUGH, but if we receive God’s free Gift, the work of Christ is GOOD ENOUGH.